Juana y José by JacquesCousteau - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - SMALL - cross-section - Spanish Fishing Boat

[JacquesCousteau]

Apparently I prefer to have multiple builds going at once, as I'm still working on the Lake Chapala Canoa build. But, this should be a relatively short and quick build, as it's a cross-section of a largely open boat. Obviously, this is an unusual choice for a cross-section--why make a cross-section of a boat that already has mostly visible framing?--and I think it will be the smallest vessel with a cross-section build log on the site. So, it's reasonable to ask why I'm doing it. Apologies for the long-winded explanation!

 

Detail from the plans of the Juana y José.

 

A cross-section of a barca catalana, a similar vessel. The Juana y José is actually a bit simpler than this in some aspects. Source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barca_levantina#/media/Archivo:Parts_buc-català.jpg

 

Why am I building a cross section of such a small boat?

One thing that I'm grappling with is that, for the foreseeable future, I am going to be moving with some regularity and probably won't have much space. This makes modeling difficult. Unless I plan on giving most of my builds away, most everything will have to be readily transportable. So, much as I'd like to jump into even a relatively small model of a rigged sailing ship, like the Chilean Lancha Chilota coasting sloop that I have plans for to make a POB model, or the Model Shipways  Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack, I'm struck by how difficult it will be to pack it up and lug it with me. So, I'm considering some more portable options.

One option would be an unrigged half hull, and I do think I want to do the NRG half hull. Beyond being a good learning experience, it would be easy to store on a wall and much easier to transport than a rigged model. Another option would be to do some extremely small models or ships in a bottle, the latter of which would definitely take the prize for portability. There are some amazing and creative builds in both categories on the site, but I don't think my building skills are quite there yet. Another option is a cross-section (without a mast). The Triton and Echo cross sections both look fantastic, but both also seem like you really need more tools and skills than I have to build them. Finally, I was looking at a fourth option: a small model around 6 inches long, likely of a rowing vessel in a reasonable scale that wouldn't be too fiddly to make. 

I got started with modeling after going to the Barcelona Maritime Museum and being blown away by its small craft collection, and one of my goals is to build a POF model of a traditional lateen-rigged Spanish fishing vessel (of which there are a number of types--the barca catalana, the Mallorcan llaüt, the palangrera, the sardinal, the barquets and barches of Valencia that wefalck discusses in detail on his website: https://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/maritime/albufera/Boats-of-the-Albufera.html, etc). I found that a Spanish modeler, Alfonso del Valle, had drawn up plans--not just line plans, but also diagrams of all frames--and made them freely available for one such boat, the Juana y José. Although there are no builds of it on this site, the Spanish modeling forum Foro Modelismo Naval has a number of builds (such as this one: https://www.foromodelismonaval.es/viewtopic.php?t=15014), and the plans produce a very nice model. Javier Baron, who has a number of albums in the galleries of Model Ship World, even made a beautiful 

tiny model in 1:74 scale: https://barcosbaron.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/391/).

The Juana y José is a small vessel, and the plans are originally in 1:15, but I was curious about what a 1:32 scale build would be like, as that would produce a model about 6 inches long (1:74 scale, in contrast, is well beyond my skills). Printing the plans off in that scale, I noted that the frames would be thin, but perhaps still manageable, and that all parts can be constructed from basswood in thicknesses I have access to. I decided to hold off on a full build for now, as I have no idea how to plank a curved hull form yet. But a small cross-section seemed like a way to test out whether I will want to eventually go ahead with a full build at 1:32, or if I'd prefer a larger scale. It also will give me some experience with POF construction, and will produce a readily portable model. Also, if I eventually do a full build, I can display it alongside the full model.

 

 

The Juana y José

There are a few particularities about the boat and the plans. As del Valle discussed both on his website, now sadly defunct but still viewable through the Internet Archive (https://web.archive.org/web/20160902024136/http://www.modelismonaval.com/magazine/almejera/juanayjose.html), and also on Foro Modelismo Naval, the Juana y José is a real vessel, an old fishing boat that he came across on the beach in Algeciras. The owner allowed him to take its lines and photograph it, and told him about its history. It was built in Málaga sometime in the early 1900s, and was later sold to an Algeciras fisherman. It was broken up in 2003, and was 4.75m/15.6ft long. However, the actual vessel is entirely open and oar-powered (while the owner said it used to have a sail, del Valle saw no mast step or other such evidence, although it conceivably was removed during repairs or renovations). While del Valle accurately depicts the Juana y José in its line plans, in the other sheets, he instead decided to depict it in the rest of the plans as a lateen-rigged, decked vessel, similar in form to a sardinal, and added a prominent windlass, turning it into a traditional clam dragger as he remembered from his youth. So, while the hull is accurate, other details are not. These additions are certainly similar to other vessels, though.

So, I could either build the Juana y José accurately as a pure rowboat, follow the plans even if they're not totally accurate--as I've noticed, they make a gorgeous model, and I do really love the look of Spanish lateen-rigged fishing boats--or perhaps take a middle route, inspired by the owner's comment that it used to have a sail, and add a mast while leaving off the deck and windlass. Following the plans would certainly produce the most visually interesting option, even if it's still very simple for a cross-section.

 

 

The Build, Part 1: The Keel

I decided to make the cross-section long enough to include two thwarts, providing the build with some structural rigidity. I chose a six-frame section running from around amidships foreward. If I choose to follow the plans, this section will include the mast step and windlass. The section is just under 2 inches long.

I started with the keel. As it turns out, at 1:32 scale, the keel is very close in thickness to 1/16 of an inch, so I was able to use some of my stock of that basswood for the keel. While this seems very thin to me, it's what the plans show and widening it would require reshaping all the frames a bit, so I'm keeping it for now at least. I marked and filed out the frame notches. My filing skills could use a little work, and the notch on the right in the photo below is too wide, but it will do. I then carefully carved out the rabbet, mostly using an exacto knife but also running a file edge along it to widen it a little. I was very concerned about the rabbet cutting through the keel--again, it's 1/16-inch thick--so it's probably not as deep as it should be, but I think it will work.

After this photo, I added a coat of sealer-varnish to strengthen the wood a bit--I don't want it breaking along the rabbet or elsewhere, or chipping any more than it already has. Some of the notches may need to be slightly deepened, but I'm going to leave them as-is for now and adjust that once I test-fit the frames.

 

This post is already long, so I'll leave the first frame for the next post.

[JacquesCousteau]

One issue with the frames is that the plans show the entire frame shape as a single piece, but the actual frames are made of floor timbers and a pair of futtocks. I guessed at a location to mark the joint between floor and futtock, choosing the point that seemed to minimize the curve in each piece.

Interestingly, the frames of the Juana y José are a bit different from what seems to have been typical further north along the Spanish coast. There, the floor was a single piece, and the futtocks were joined to it along either the fore or aft side (depending on the frame's position in the vessel). The Juana y José is different in that it has two floor timbers in each frame, one longer than the other, and the futtocks are butt jointed to the shorter timber with the joint strengthened by the longer timber, which is always on the fore side of the frame. To better explain, I drew a simple not-to-scale diagram, below, showing a top down view of the frame in 1) a typical llaüt or barca catalana, and 2) the Juana y José. I'm not sure if this is a regional characteristic of Málagan vessels or something.

I cut out the pieces for the aftmost frame on paper, leaving some around the edge to keep the paper from twisting too much. As a test, I taped the paper to the 1/16-inch basswood I'm using for the frames to hold the drawing in place while cutting. This was less than ideal, as I suspected. I've read that a non-water-based glue is ideal to keep the paper from warping, and I may have to seek some out. Nonetheless, I was able to cut out the frame pieces. As can be seen, my cutting around curves leaves something to be desired. This first frame may be more of a test than something I use.

After cutting out the frame pieces, I assembled them on the plan sheet and added the temporary support beam that will stabilize the frame. I'll have to see if I can fair the pieces so that they're more even. Another issue is that there is less overlap than I thought at the frame joints. I will have to move the joint location closer to the center and redo the frame, although I am concerned about weakening the futtocks by making them too curved.

 

I still wanted to see how it looked in place and faired. Problems aside, the frame (still unfaired here) does fit in its keel notch, and the cross section is starting to take shape. 

I then did a bit of preliminary

fairing on the frame and it looks better, although I'll still redo it so as to have consistent joint placement on the frames.

I knew it would be small, but it's still surprising to see it. At least it will be very portable!

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Given the issues especially with the joint locations in the first frame, I decided to remake it. I tried to cut a bit more around the lines this time, rather than on them, to leave space for sanding. It also helped that I switched to a fresh blade.

I wasn't happy with the larger floor timber, though, as I accidentally cut part of it at an angle, so I redid it. The first is on top and the second on the bottom. The second looks more consistent in width.

Happier with how it came out, I assembled the frame and gave it a preliminary fairing. Maybe it's hard to see, but I think the redo (bottom) looks a lot more even compared to the first try (top). The frame joints are also much stronger.

And here it is temporarily on the keel with a quarter for scale.

 

One frame down, five to go!

[JacquesCousteau]

Due to some travel, I wasn't able to work on the build, but I've gotten back into it. Using tape to hold the framing templates in place wasn't really working, so I switched to a gluestick. It seems to have little enough moisture that it doesn't distort the paper template, at least not with the small quantities I'm using. 

 

Given how small the frame pieces are, I've been able to cut them from oddly-shaped scrap.

 

The second frame on the cross-section, which is the amidships frame, came together pretty easily and without serious problems. Here are both conpleted frames dry-fit on the keel. I'm going to need some sort of jig to make sure the frames are squared up when I actually glue them in place.

 

At this point, the remaining frames will go together identically, so hopefully the next post will be when they're all completed.

[JacquesCousteau]

I've been focused on the canoas, but I recently finished the frames for the Juana y José.

 

 

 

They were pretty straightforward to make, overall. The main problem is the wood choice. Basswood, as is well known, is pretty soft and doesn't hold an edge all that well. I had some issues with the joints as a result, and with the wood chipping. I think the frames turned out ok, overall, but if I eventually do a full build of this vessel, I may try a better wood. Also, at 1:32 scale, these parts are very small, which makes even minor issues stand out more. So it may make sense to go with 1:24 scale or thereabouts in the future. That said, these should be the most complex parts to cut for this build, so I think I should be ok to continue.

 

A quick test fitting:

 

 

 

Next I'll need to make a jig of sorts to hold up the frames, so I can make sure I get them vertical and positioned evenly side-to-side.

Edited November 13, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[JacquesCousteau]

I made a jig to ensure that the frames are square. My design was inspired by the jig for the Echo cross section, but is pretty significantly different, especially because I don't have a building board for this build.

I made the jig out of card with some basswood backing for extra sturdiness. I drew a grid on the upright piece to help align the frame ends. The bottom piece included two pieces of balsa wood meant to hold the keel in position--if this were a bigger job, I would have chosen a stronger wood, but I felt balsa would work for such a small keel section. Originally I thought that I would move the upright jig back along the keel, adding frames as I went. For that reason I drew a series of lines perpendicular to the keel line to help orient the upright. Then I realized that, with such a small keel section, it made more sense to just move the keel--that way I only had to square up the upright once. A couple more supports to hold everything together and it was ready.

If I were redoing this, especially for a full hull, I would use basswood instead of card to limit warping.

I added one frame at a time. Here I realized that I should have made a smaller grid on the upright. I ended up using a ruler to measure distances from the lines.

As can be seen, I was able to clamp the frames into position to dry.

My support framework is poorly thought through and developed haphazardly, although the crossbeams and other supports will be removed later so I wasn't too concerned. At first I thought that I would add two support pieces between each frame, angled so as to ensure stiffness, but after a bit I chose to add two more. Eventually I hit upon gluing the supports not just to the crossbeams, but to the previous supports as well, for added strength, although it was too late to do this consistently across the entire framing.

 

The framing is now complete and ready for fairing!

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Fairing the hull has been difficult. Right off the bat, two of the crossbeams came loose and needed to be reglued.

 

More seriously, undoubtedly due to carelessness on my part, the frames don't line up quite like they should. I think I didn't get a perfectly consistent slot carved in the bottom of each frame, so they don't all sit at perfectly equal heights. The difference is tiny, but on a model this small, it matters. Moreover, while the starboard side is pretty fair and should take the planking without a problem, a frame or two on the port side are a bit off. Even with aggressive fairing, they are still far from being in a place where they would work for planking. And given the small size of the parts, I can't really sand any further without making some frames notably thinner than others. Shimming could work, but would be very visible on a small cross-section like this.

 

It's worth noting that the irregularities on the port side are not especially visible to the naked eye if the hull isn't planked. So, I'm thinking of leaving the port side unplanked as a skeletal framework, and only fully constructing the starboard side.

 

Overall, I think this is a lesson in the need for greater precision when making a pof model. It also is further evidence to me that, if I do a full build of this vessel or similar ones in the future, I should definitely go with a larger scale--just having slightly thicker frames would give me more room for fairing, for example.

[JacquesCousteau]

I didn't include photos above because I needed both hands to hold the planks to the frames--for a small cross-section, the hull curves a decent amount. But then I realized that I have bobby pins that would work perfectly for clamping! So here's the even framing on the port side (still needs a bit of fairing, but nearly there):

 

And here's the much worse starboard side, with some serious gaps readily apparent:

 

I'll still be fairing both sides some more, but by now I've decided to leave the starboard side unplanked. Except for the uppermost wale and cap rail, which will provide a bit of stability.

[wefalck]

How could I know, that you are working on three projects at the same time ... so I missed the beginning 🙄

 

Very good subject! I doesn't always have to be a VICTORY cross-section !

 

I know very well the space and mobility problem.

[JacquesCousteau]

1 hour ago, wefalck said:

How could I know, that you are working on three projects at the same time ... so I missed the beginning 🙄

 

Very good subject! I doesn't always have to be a VICTORY cross-section !

 

I know very well the space and mobility problem.

Thanks! It's a very fun little build, and given that the whole thing fits in the palm of my hand with room to spare, I shouldn't have any problem with transporting it and finding a space for it on a shelf. I'm also learning a lot about POF construction, especially what not to do when attaching frames!

 

In other news, I've decided that I'll build the cross-section as the plans have it, as a masted, decked, windlass-equipped clamming boat, rather than as the undecked rowboat the Juana y José actually was. If I eventually do a full hull build, which I would like to do, I'll be doing it as it as the actual vessel, but for the cross-section, the extra details will add visual interest and make for a more interesting build.

Also, I realized that I haven't included yet any of the photos of the actual Juana y José, so here are some screenshots from the defunct Modelismo Naval site (source: https://web.archive.org/web/20160902024136/http://www.modelismonaval.com/magazine/almejera/juanayjose.html). By the time the photos were taken in the early 2000s, the boat had clearly seen better days. I'm thinking I may come up with my own paint scheme, I can't say I'm crazy about the blue interior....

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

I decided to add the keelson in order to help strengthen the hull. This required a bit of internal fairing down the center, although more serious fairing on the internal side of the frames will have to wait until the supports come off.

I continued fairing the exterior. Ultimately, I decided that leaving the iffy starboard side unplanked would be unsatisfactory, as the fairing issues would still be visible. Instead, after a lot of fairing, I got it as close as I can get it, and I decided to plank it. There will still be some small gaps at the bottom of some of the middle planks, due to the issues I mentioned above, but they are quite small and will be largely covered by the flooring.

After cutting the sheer planks to the right width, I lightly moistened them and bobby-pinned them in place to dry.

I then glued them and the plank below in place. The bottom of this plank will have a rub rail, and below that, I'll have to do some light spiling on the planks. While those were drying, I also added the garboard planks. The rabbet didn't really work very well for these, both because it was a little too small and because of the issues I noted earlier with getting the frames to a consistent depth on the keel. But, the rabbet will be covered up, so my error shouldn't show when I'm finished.

Finally, due again to my problems with attaching the frames to the keel, the tops of the frames didn't line up well. However, as can be seen in the plans' cross-section, the tops of the frames will be fully covered by the gunwale and cap rail.

So, I simply made sure that the foremost and aftmost frames were at the correct heights, and made the sheer planks line up with those. The uneven frame tops will be entirely covered in the finished build.

Although I've made a lot of problems for myself with this build, it's a lot of fun, and I'm learning a lot that will be useful for future builds. It's also made me appreciate even more the incredible POF builds that others have done.

 

As I mentioned, this will be a very portable model:

[JacquesCousteau]

Although my focus has really been elsewhere these days--finishing the Cargo Canoa and working on some small models as Christmas ornaments to give as gifts, as detailed in the Canoa build log--I haven't forgotten about the Juana y José. In fact, I just finished planking the hull. This was very quick to do, but was also extremely informative and a great way to dip my toes into planking curved hulls.

Although the section doesn't cover a very long portion of the boat, the hull still takes a complex curve--much simpler than a full build, of course, but still more complicated than the flat-bottomed hulls I've made up to now. After having attached the garboards and sheer planks, I used strips of tape to measure along each frame. Following the plans, I hoped to use nine strakes (besides those already on the boat). Dividing each length into nine, I found that each strake should be 3.3mm wide toward the bow, and 3.8mm wide at the widest frame (second from the stern end).

This posed a bit of a challenge. Given my skills and tools, that level of precision is difficult to attain, and this is another part of the build that would have been easier in a larger scale. I decided to cut strips just under 4mm wide, and sand them to taper a bit at one end. Ultimately this worked out, although the final planks ended up slightly different sizes. The result was acceptable for me, but there's definitely room for improvement and greater precision, especially if I get a good set of dividers or digital calipers.

The hull curves enough that bobby pins and clips were necessary, but I didn't have to soak planks. Instead I just moistened them on the outside. The clips became increasingly necessary to hold the planks against each other as I got into the curve of the bilge.

After getting several planks on, working my way inward, I decided to leave a few strakes off the starboard side to better show off the frames.

By the time I had three strakes left to add on the port side, I re-measured and realized that I was a little off. I especially should have been spiling a bit more. As it was hard to get the planks to lie flush around the curve of the bilge, I added a slightly thin strake there, and a more heavily spiled plank at the other end of the gap. Finally, I had just one plank to go. I used a bit of tape to roughly mark its shape.

Cutting oversize, I then repeatedly sanded and checked for fit. After a while of this, I ended up with a plank I was happy with. As can be seen, it did require some spiling. Lesson learned for next time to spile earlier!

Finally, I glued it in place and sanded the exterior and the hull a bit. There were a few minor gaps, only really visible by holding the model up to the light, so I added some watered-down glue and sanded once it partially dried.

 

Overall, I'm happy with how the planking turned out. Now I just need to trim the planks consistently, remove the supports, and work on the interior.
 

Edited December 16, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[JacquesCousteau]

Brief update. I've been able to progress a bit on the cross-section. With the hull planked, the next step was to remove the scaffolding:

 

I then trimmed and sanded the ends of the planks. Next I added the gunwales:

 

At this point, I decided to experiment a bit with other woods for some of the internal parts--thwarts, risers, decking, etc. I was able to find a 1/16-inch thick cherry strip at a local hobby shop, and began to make the cap rails. This was my first time working with cherry, and while it's much harder to cut than basswood, it sands and holds an edge very nicely. I can see why people like working with it, and I definitely want to find more for the future! Unfortunately, the cherry was too thick for most of the other parts, so it was back to the hobby shop. While they didn't have any 1/32‐inch cherry, they did have sheets of mahogany in that size. I've read that mahogony's grain is out of scale and it's hard to work with for modeling, but I thought I'd give it a try as it is quite a nice color. I picked out a sheet with relatively subdued grain and began working on the thwarts and risers.

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take many photos during the next steps. Before installing the new parts, I painted the hull interior (except the gunwales) a light blue color, which seems relatively common on fishing boats. I modified the external colors a great deal more, deciding for a white hull with red bottom (the latter as yet unpainted), and green bulwarks, leaving the cap rail in natural cherry. The rub rail, which will be installed later, may be painted or left natural. I then began to fit parts together. First, the risers and the fore thwart--the aft thwart would have blocked the clamps on the riser, and was bent into place afterward.

 

 

I then attached the aft thwart. The cap rails will be glued in place tomorrow after touching up some of the green paint. The ragged edge on the bottom of the green stripe will be covered when I add the rub rail.

 

 

As can be seen, one thing I'll need to figure out is what to do with the exposed edges. I'd prefer to leave them natural, but paint has of course gotten on them. I'm wondering if I can sand it off.

Edited December 28, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[KeithAug]

I enjoyed catching up. The alignment frame is pretty neat.

[JacquesCousteau]

5 hours ago, KeithAug said:

I enjoyed catching up. The alignment frame is pretty neat.

Thanks! I think it would work a lot better if it was made of basswood instead of paper. It also would have been worthwhile to make it smaller so that clamps could be placed more easily.

[JacquesCousteau]

As mentioned above, I'm building the cross section in line with the plans, which imaginatively add a mast, deck, and windlass to the vessel. At this point, I ran into an issue. The plans do not include scuppers, although these definitely were present on similar decked vessels. I decided to add them, which proved a much more challenging task than anticipated. Overall, it would have been much easier to add these earlier by cutting out notches in the lower bulwark plank before fitting it. Lesson learned!

 

The first challenge was alignment. The scuppers need to open from the topside of the deck out to the hull. So, I had to get started on the deck. The deck is heavily cambered at the sides, so the first step was adding a triangular support to prop it to the correct angle. This proved a little difficult as the plan drawing that shows this piece is to a different scale than other drawings, but I was able to work out an approximation. (Also, I glued on the cap rails).

 

The edge of the deck (the waterways?) needed to follow the curve of the hull and fit around the frames. I started with a card template.

 

I then cut them out of mahogony, which I'll be using for the deck. It was slow going cutting out the frame notches. There are still more gaps than I would like, but with every build, I'm slightly improving.

 

I also took the time to curve the coaming that runs around the deck opening.

 

With the deck height set, I was able to work out the scupper locations. Unfortunately, there was very little space between the gunwales and the deck, partly a result of building this in 1/32 but also perhaps a sign that I either installed the riser a little high or made the gunwale too wide. In any case, I used my pin vise to drill out the scuppers from the inside out, to make sure they were aligned with the deck. As can be seen, this worked poorly, and the holes were pretty uneven when viewed from the outside. There was also some pushout.

 

So, I began expanding and evening out the scuppers, using a combination of further drilling (this time outside-in) and thin files. The results look much better than the original holes, but are too wide to really be in scale. However, my files wouldn't fit in anything thinner. They also aren't quite evenly spaced. Making even, scale scuppers would really have to be done before adding the bulwark planks, as I mentioned above.

 

In any case, I was then able to add the rub rails. I was originally going to shape some basswood, but I found a tiny half-round piece in the scrap section of a hobby shop and decided to use that instead.

 

Next steps to finish the build: adding the boards that run parallel to the keel on the bottom, painting the bottom red, making the deck and floor planking, building the mast step, and adding the furnishings (windlass and thole pins).

[JacquesCousteau]

Next, I began adding the deck planks, as well as some floor planking. The razor saw I received for Christmas is extremely useful for trimming all ends even. I'm probably going a little overboard on the mahogany, but I like the color contrast with the blue interior, and I'm learning as much as I can about building with hardwoods.

 

On the flooring, I ultimately added one more plank on each side to fully cover the widest point in the hull. The floor planking was a little trickier than I anticipated, as the planks have to both curve and twist to follow the interior of the hull. I was able to get it done with some clamping.

 

As for the deck, I used a card template to work out the shape of the final plank that runs up to the coaming. In hindsight, it would have made more sense to make these planks first, and then shape the coaming to fit them, rather than vice versa, but oh well, I'll keep it in mind next time.

 

In any case, here's the build so far, with a quarter for scale.

 

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Further progress on the Juana y José.

 

First, I needed to make the carenotes or escuas. These are boards along the bottom running parallel to the keel that make it easier to haul the boat onto the beach. It took a bit of care to shape them to follow the hull's curve. With them in place, the half-hull sits nicely upright.

 

Unfortunately, my plans to paint the bottom ran into a snag. I accidentally bought the wrong type of tamiya masking tape, and the type I bought can't follow the curve. So I have a new order of that coming in over the week.

 

Next, the mast step. This I shaped from the 3/16x1/16‐inch cherry strip. I lightly beveled the edges with sandpaper, drilled out a hole in the center, and used the tip of a file to square the hole.

 

I tested a few positions. I should note that, while the plans have the mast stepped ahead of the thwart, I haven't seen this on many actual vessels. The area between the thwarts will also be pretty busy with the windlass. So I decided to step the mast aft of the thwart. If I were building the full vessel this could look very unbalanced, but on a half-hull I don't think it will look noticeably wrong. The angle is only an approximation, and I'm still not sure whether I'll even be installing a mast--it would add visual interest, but would make the model a lot larger and harder to transport.

 

Finally, after gluing the mast step, I made the thwart supports, also from the cherry. I tried to bevel the edges in the middle of the supports, although it was tricky to get this even, given their small size. As can be seen, one had to be connected to the mast step rather than the keelson.

 

 

Next up: the windlass and painting the bottom. I also still need to figure out how to deal with the exposed edges of the cross-section. It's a bit late to go with natural wood there on the hull. I'm debating between a sort of dull red to highlight the cross-sectional nature of the build, or a black or gray to avoid calling attention to it.

[JacquesCousteau]

While I wait for the masking tape and debate whether to build a mast, I've gotten started on the windlass. This was used for clam dragging in a small vessel. Rather than try to drag a heavy dredge under sail or oar, the method shown in the plans entails dropping anchor at one end of the clam bed, letting out the anchor cable and traveling to the other end of the bed, dropping the dredge there, and winching back to the anchor. Undoubtedly very tiring work!

 

The design in the plans looks a bit complicated to my eye. As can be seen, it uses socketed bands to mount the handles, as well as wheels to demarcate the rope location. Most complex of all is the ratchet system.

 

I will be simplifying this a good bit, to make it more possible to build at my chosen scale without metal working.

 

First, I added the support beams that run under the thwarts. Given the hull's curve, the thwarts aren't perfectly aligned, so I lightly shaped the ends of the beams for a better fit. Thse pieces are cherry.

 

Next, I made the seats for the ends of the captsan (out of mahogany) and the captsan barrel itself (from a dowel, maybe birch?). I also sanded down a toothpick tip to make the captsan axle.

 

I drilled a little into the ends and mounted the axel pieces. At this point the captsan looked like a miniature rolling pin.

 

One simplification I made is that, instead of a complex socketed band to mount the handles, I simply drilled holes into the barrel. I went from both ends and was happy to see that the holes aligned properly.

 

I was going to make the handles from toothpick again, but for added visual interest I decided to go with mahogany.

 

I then test-fit the captsan. In hindsight, the mahogany handles might blend in a bit too much with the deck.

 

As you may have noticed, I committed an error--according to the plans, there should be another set of handles at the other end of the barrel! I completely forgot about it in my excitement to fit the handles.

 

So that's where I am at the moment. First, I need to think about whether to add the other handles or not. The plans show it that way, but on the other hand, this is quite a small windlass--barrel length would be 2 feet 4 inches in real life--and I'm not sure how practical additional handles would be. Second, I need to figure out the ratchet mechanism. I was considering cutting a card disk and sealing and painting it. That might work, but I would still also need to figure out how to make the rachet mechanism, which is extremely tiny at this scale. (I can really see why this is usually built at 1:15-1:20 scale).

Edited January 14 by JacquesCousteau
Added image

[wefalck]

You could simulate the metal hardware by painted paper strips ...

 

For the ratched wheel I wouldn't use cardboard, this has the tendency to fuss when worked with something else, but a sharp knife. On the other hand, you could draw the profile of the wheel in a suitable drawing program on the computer, print it out and stick it to a cardboard disc; then take a sharp cutter and cut out the spaces between the teeth.

 

I suppose the prototype ones would have been rather rustic ...

[JacquesCousteau]

18 hours ago, wefalck said:

You could simulate the metal hardware by painted paper strips ...

 

For the ratched wheel I wouldn't use cardboard, this has the tendency to fuss when worked with something else, but a sharp knife. On the other hand, you could draw the profile of the wheel in a suitable drawing program on the computer, print it out and stick it to a cardboard disc; then take a sharp cutter and cut out the spaces between the teeth.

 

I suppose the prototype ones would have been rather rustic ...

Thanks! I ended up using an index card to make the hardware. I added additional handles at the other end, as I imagine you would want the flexibility to be able to crank from either side of the boat and you could conceivably have two people working at once. I then added the parts meant to keep the rope from getting too far off center. Rather than the large ones shown on the plan, I just used a bit of black-painted card.

 

As for the ratchet wheel, I used black painted card as well. I decided after some experimentation that there was no way I could cut teeth in it at anything close to scale. So, the imagination will have to fill in that gap.

 

(In hindsight, I'm now wondering if it would have worked to just dash around the edge with a pencil to create at least a subtle variation in color that would suggest teeth, but now that it's installed I wouldn't be able to reach all around it. Oh well.)

 

Next up was mounting the windlass. I was concerned about how I would align it. Getting the supports squared on the hull seemed tricky, while simply gluing them to the windlass would also be hard as I needed to keep the bottoms level. But I came up with a solution. First, I glued one support in place in the hull. The second support was glued to the windlass itself. This way I could get proper alignment with minimal effort.

 

I then glued the windlass into the hull. I also glued tiny strips of black-painted card over the axels to represent the metal parts there.

 

I still need to finish the ratchet mechanism, although I think I can make something simpler than in the plans--rather than a piece that comes at the ratchet wheel from the front, requiring additional supports, I think I can just add something that approaches the wheel from the side and is attached directly to the existing supports.

 

In any case, I thought I'd add the scale figure I made for the canoa to get a sense of size. The Juana y José is quite a small vessel!

 

Overall I'm pretty happy with how the windlass has turned out, even if it's a lot simpler than the version in the plans.

 

 

Edited January 15 by JacquesCousteau

[wefalck]

I tend to rub bare metal parts, particularly when they are supposed to be cast-iron, with a soft pencil. You could still follow your idea to sort of make some dashes on the rim of the ratched wheel.

[JacquesCousteau]

Thanks! I decided to give it a try. The dash idea didn't really work as I hoped, so I ended up just drawing consistentlt around the rim of the ratchet wheel. When the light hits it right, it adds a textured appearance that is a definite improvement on the black paint. (Hard to see in the photo, though).

[JacquesCousteau]

Progress was held up a bit when I accidentally bought the wrong type of tamiya masking tape--I needed the tape for curves. Once I got the right tape, I was able to paint a dark red below the waterline. I'm still working out how to paint the exposed frames and edges of the cross-section, although I'm now maybe leaning toward the same blue as the hull interior.

As can be seen, the model is small enough that a lot of exterior hull details are obscured if it sits low on its eventual stand. I've bought some very thin brass rods in order to prop up the hull a few inches, although I'm concerned about drilling a mounting hole into the 1/16-inch thick keel. Given that the brass rods will be very thin in order to fit into such a narrow keel, I am thinking of just using a thin dowel to hold the model up, with just a small section of rod to solidify the model on the stand.

In the meantime, I also got started on the base of the stand. After finding a 1/8x1/4 basswood strip, I cut a number of lengths and glued them together to make a 3-inch square base. It still needs finer sanding, and I might chamfer the edges a bit.

[wefalck]

I think I would have left the exposed frames bare wood (protected with some sanding filler). Some builders put tar onto the frames for protection, but I am not sure that would have been practice at the Spanish coast.

 

Coming on nicely ...

[Roger Pellett]

A very nice little model!  It’s obvious that your skills and confidence are rapidly improving.

 

Well done!

 

Roger

[JacquesCousteau]

9 hours ago, wefalck said:

I think I would have left the exposed frames bare wood (protected with some sanding filler). Some builders put tar onto the frames for protection, but I am not sure that would have been practice at the Spanish coast.

 

Coming on nicely ...

I considered bare wood, but I already got some paint on it that I'd need to scrape off. In any case, I also really like how G.L.'s cross section of a fishing smack--an excellent and very unique build--has the "cut ends" highlighted in orange, as seen clearly in this post: 

 

8 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

A very nice little model!  It’s obvious that your skills and confidence are rapidly improving.

 

Well done!

 

Roger

Thank you! This has been a very fun little build, and I've learned a lot from it.

 

I got a bit more work done on the stand. I don't think I'll be able to do much building over the next few weeks, so I wanted to get it to where I could at least put it on the mantle out of the way of things. I was able to make the vertical supports from a dowel, and drilled a hole in them and in the keel for a thin brass rod to hold the boat in place. I also drilled the holes in the base for the vertical supports. The verticals are over-long at the moment, but nothing is glued in place yet and I can cut them to size later.

 

Still to do: finish the exposed ends and frames, add thole pins, add a mast if I decide to make one, and finish the base.

[Paul Le Wol]

Neat!

[JacquesCousteau]

A little more progress. First, I began working on the tholes, which I cut from 1/32‐inch basswood.

 

I then painted then a dark brown, and glued them in place. I'll add the thole pins later, once I'm sure I won't break them while doing other work.

 

I then slightly shortened the mast base, chamfered the edges slightly, and applied sealer-varnish. I also started making a mast, based on dimension formulas in Francisco Oller and Vicente García-Delgado's Nuestra vela latina. I initially tried using a hardwood dowel, but it was very difficult to work, so I switched to basswood. At the moment, there's still additional work to do on the mast, like finishing the top and properly tapering it, but I'm not sure if I want to add it.

 

As can be seen, with the mast in place, the model is a lot taller. Without rigging or the yard, which I'm not planning on making, or thd rest of the hull, the cross-section feels kind of overwhelmed by the long mast, which draws attention upward away from the hull to a largely featureless pole.

 

 

I may just let the mast sit there for now to see if I get used to it, but I feel like I prefer leaving it off. The other option would be to do a stub mast, but that might look odd on such a small boat.

 

 

Finally, as can be seen, I have not been able to successfully sand and scrape away the paint from the cut-aways. The end grain just absorbed the paint too deeply. This is an important lesson for the future. For this build, I need to decide which color to paint the exposed cut-aways.

Edited February 4 by JacquesCousteau
Switched to better photo

[JacquesCousteau]

I've finally wrapped up this build! I've discovered that I really enjoy having multiple builds going at once. If something is frustrating in one build. you can easily set it aside for a bit to work on something completely different. With the Canoa de Rancho's thatching turning out more difficult than anticipated, I decided to set it aside for a bit and knock out the cross-section. There were just a few last steps to complete the Juana y José.

First, I glued the brass rods in place in the stand--previously they had been loose and frequently came off with the hull when I detached it. For now I will not be gluing the hull to the stand. The cross section is very light and sits well on the stand without gluing it, and detaching it makes it much easier to pack this all for transport.

Second, I added the thole pins. I was going to paint these to match the thole pin supports, but decided to leave them natural as the contrast looked better.

Then, after more sanding and scraping I finally got the exposed edges of the cut-off clear enough that I felt they were acceptable to leave natural. There may be a slight bluish tint in a few places, but I can live with it. I was going to paint the exposed edges a dull orange or perhaps an off-white, but I ultimately decided I liked the natural look better. I covered the end grain with matte varnish.

Then, the mast. I hadn't been sure whether I wanted to keep the mast or not. I decided that, for now, I would keep it, but would leave it unglued so it can be removed for packing, or in case I later decided that I preferred it without the mast. So, I added the rounded tip to the top of the mast. I made this from a toothpick. I also did a bit more sanding to better taper the mast.

I was going to leave the mast as-is, but decided, based on photos of a number of Spanish fishing vessels, to paint the tip. I went with a blue color. The first coat was too dark:

So I lightened it and added another coat. The tip now matches the interior blue of the boat. I also took the chance to paint the pulley wheel and other details in the mast tip.

Finally, I used painted card to make the curved metal loop that holds the mast to the thwart. The loop holds the mast in position, but is loose enough that it can be removed for transport.

With that, the Juana y José is complete! I might add some felt or something to the bottom of the stand to keep it from slipping, but that would be it.

 

 

 

Overall this build was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I would highly recommend a cross section to anyone who is looking for a rewarding project but perhaps doesn't have the space, skills, and/or tools for a more complex full build. It allows you to build skills with things like deck furnishings, plank-on-frame construction, and planking a round-bilged hull, without needing to do a full build. And it takes up very little space, as can be seen by the comparison withthe mug at right in the photo below. I'm quite happy with this unique little build, and am looking forward to making more Spanish fishing boats like it in the future. Thanks to all those who followed along and offered support, too!

 

 

 

Edited February 19 by JacquesCousteau
Removed extra photos